The Mystery Twins: De-Ciphered
by TheSoulStealer
Summary: Four years after the twins' first visit to Gravity Falls, Dipper is on the search for his missing sister. Together, he and his former rival, current partner Pacifica Northwest, are ready to find Mabel and bring her back home, no matter the cost. And knowing Bill Cipher, the cost will be great.
1. Welcome to Gravity Falls, I Guess

_**This is is just a test. If people like it, I'll fix it up and write more, so review, follow, and favorite if you like it!**_

_***SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SECOND SEASON***_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls.**_

_Four years ago..._

_It wasn't looking good for the Pines twins._

_Dipper glanced once more over a pamphlet handed to him by the bus driver, who was shipping them off to- Dipper groaned inwardly as he thought the name- Gravity Falls. An obscure town in the middle of nowhere where the main tourist attractions are a supposedly "psychic" child with white, feminine hair and- another groan- the Mystery Shack. It was where Dipper and Mabel could look forward to staying for the next summer._

_No phones._

_No video games._

_No cable TV._

_Just, as Dipper's parents put it, "the great outdoors."_

And what's so great about them? _Dipper thought bitterly._

_Mabel's head fell on Dipper's shoulder and Dipper felt something wet slide down his arm. Mabel had fallen asleep, and she was drooling._

"_Gross," Dipper grumbled. He pushed his sister to the side and wiped his arm on his shirt. Mabel fell off the seat as the bus came to a stop._

"_Wethereyet?" Mabel mumbled, her voice slurred with grogginess. Dipper didn't reply. Instead, he gathered up his sister, their backpacks, said a quick thank you to the bus driver, and exited the bus._

_As Dipper and Mabel walked from the bus stop to the Mystery Shack, Mabel barraged Dipper with unanswerable questions about their mysterious great-uncle, Stanford Pines, all of her sleepiness gone with the excitement of this new adventure. Dipper listened only because he had nothing else to do, and it was better than thinking of the summer ahead._

"_What do you think he has at the Mystery Shack?" Mabel wondered. "A unicorn? A fairy princes? A FAIRY PRINCESS UNICORN?!"_

_Dipper cringed. "Mabel, I'm standing right next to you. You don't need to yell."_

"_Well _somebody's _grumpy!" Mabel poked Dipper's nose with her finger. "Boop!"_

_Dipper swatted the finger away. "Stop that." Mabel grabbed Dipper's stomach and started to tickle him. Dipper couldn't stop himself from laughing, but he quickly pushed Mabel's hand away and regained his "grumpy" attitude. "I'm just bummed out about how our summer is turning out," he admitted._

"_Oh, come on! I'm sure the Mystery Shack will be a blast!" Mabel winked at him. "You just wait and…"_

_Mabel's voice trailed off as she and Dipper got their first glance of the Mystery Shack._

_"See?"_

_Dipper glanced over at Mabel. She was no longer smiling. _

_It was a dump. It was a tourist trap._

_And they were going to have to live there._

_An odd man in a suit and fez met them at the door. He was holding a cane and had an eyepatch over one eye. "You two!" He pointed at the twins with his cane. Dipper couldn't help but cringe at his stupid getup. "I'm your great-uncle Stan. You can call me Grunkle Stan for short. Why don't you two put your stuff in the attic- that's where you'll be staying- and come back down and we can get you working? The floor needs to be swept, and the shelves need to be organized and dusted before the money starts rolling in tomorrow."_

_Mabel and Dipper didn't move. They just stared up at this strange man with awe and a little bit of terror._

"_Come on!" Stan pounded his cane on the ground. "The floor isn't gonna sweep itself!"_

_Dipper pushed past their "Grunkle" Stan and Mabel followed._

"_This is great," Dipper sighed. "Just great. What more would I want to do with my summer other than _sweeping?_!"_

"_I'm sure things will get better," Mabel said, but even her normally-happy attitude was dull and lifeless._

_Dipper snorted, obviously not hopeful for the summer to come. "Welcome to Gravity Falls, I guess."_

* * *

Present Day...

"Give it a break, kid."

Dipper didn't even glance up at his Grunkle Stan. He kept his eyes fixed on the pages of Journal Number One, blacklight in hand. Once he was done inspecting the journal cover to cover, he would move on to Journal Number Two and Journal Number Three, just as he had for the last four years. He had all three of them practically memorized by now, but he was still looking for something, anything, he missed.

"I won't stop until I find her."

"I'm sorry, Dipper." Stan put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do. She's gone."

Dipper slammed the journal shut and stood up from his chair, brushing away his Grunkle's hand. He gathered up the other two journals and made his way up to the attic, leaving Grunkle Stan standing at the kitchen table, shaking his head.

_Just wait. I'm going to find her. You'll see._

Dipper couldn't bear to look at Mable's side of the room. He already knew what it looked like. Everything was in its place, ready for Mabel when she came home. Even Waddles was laying in her bed, keeping a constant vigil for his owner, and only getting up to eat and relieve himself.

After Mabel's mysterious "disappearance" four years ago, Dipper convinced his parents to let him stay in Gravity Falls indefinitely, with Dipper making the excuse that it would be too painful for him to go home without her.

In reality, he wanted to join the search. It started off with him, Stan, and Soos, looking over the journals, looking for clues of any kind. Eventually, Wendy and Mabel's friends, Grenda and Candy, joined as well. Last but not least, Pacifica Northwest joined the search, making excuse after excuse about how she didn't want to be indebted to a commoner like Dipper after he helped rid her mansion of its ghost.

She wasn't fooling anybody, and she knew it too.

But Dipper's and Pacifica's feelings for each other were never admitted, and their relationship never went further than being acquaintances.

Sooner than expected, the group started to disband. Wendy left first, for college. ("Aren't you going to be a lumberjack like your dad?" Dipper asked, desperate for her to stay in Gravity Falls and help. "Are you kidding?" Wendy replied. "I'm going to go out into the world and make something of myself. Maybe become a doctor, or a psychologist, or something." She ruffled Dipper's hair. "Say hi to Mabel for me!")

Grenda and Candy both moved away within a month of each other for their own reasons. (Dipper was honestly glad to have them gone. They weren't much help and they got in the way more than anything.)

Soos' grandmother became seriously ill and died from her illness. ("Sorry dude. I just don't have the heart to continue," Soos had said, a look of utter despair on his face. Dipper let him go without a fight.)

Grunkle Stan was the last to leave. The work at the Mystery Shack started to become overwhelming, and he had given up all hope of finding his niece. He too had lost the heart to continue. Only Pacifica and Dipper were left.

"Dipper?"

"Come in, Pacifica," Dipper greeted, not looking up from the journal.

Without saying another word, Pacifica walked over to Dipper and slapped a piece of paper in front of him. Dipper looked down at the paper, then looked back up at Pacifica. Pacifica raised her eyebrows expectantly at Dipper as he unfolded the sheet of paper.

"This looks like a page that was ripped out from one of the journals," he said.

"Just read it."

Dipper read the paper front to back. He then closed Journal Number One and stood up to face Pacifica.

"It's dangerous," he said. "But Mabel is worth it."


	2. Bill's Request

_**This fix hasn't even been up for two days and I already have comments, follows, and favorites? Of course I'm going to put up another chapter!**_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls._**

Four years ago...

_"That. Was. AWESOME!" Dipper threw his fist into the air in a celebratory fist-pump. "The way you used that leafblower!"_

"_And you thought they were a zombie!" Mabel laughed. Both of them were giddy with excitement about their first victory against the unnatural things lurking in Gravity Falls. "The look on Jeff's _face_!"_

"_Just think of it, Mabel!" Dipper held the strange journal with the six fingered hand on it in front of him. "With this journal, who knows what else we can discover? Maybe this won't be such a boring summer after all!"_

"_We can go on adventures!" Mabel agreed. The two of the jumped and high-fived each other._

"_I'm gonna read this thing all night!" Dipper scanned through the pages of the journal. "Maybe we can do something with it tomorrow!"_

"_You do that, dork," Mabel laughed. "I'm going to read through the magazines I ordered. There's an article on Sev'ral Timez. And guess what? THEY'RE COMING TO GRAVITY FALLS THIS SUMMER!"_

_Dipper was barely listening. He was too busy reading the journal to pay much attention to his sister. "Uh huh. Yeah. You have fun with that."_

_Mabel shook her head and sighed. "If only there was someone who shared my interest in hot, overrated, boybands."_

"_I'm sure you'll make some friends soon," Dipper shut the journal and smiled at Mabel. "We have all summer to look forward to. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?"_

_Mabel hugged Dipper from behind. "I told you Gravity Falls was gonna be a blast!"_

"_Yeah." Dipper slid out of Mabel's grasp and tucked the journal under his arm before turning and hugging her back. "You sure did."_

Present day…

* * *

It was deciding the sacrifice that was the hardest part.

The supplies were easy to come by. Twelve white candles, a lighter, a quiet place where they wouldn't be disturbed. It was deciding who would be put in harm's way that was the topic of argument between Pacifica and Dipper.

They had two choices: Pacifica could start in the center of the ring of candles and Dipper could perform the ritual. Bill had a long history with the Northwest family, most of it not great. He would accept any Northwest as a sacrifice. This, of course, left Pacifica in great danger, as Bill could decide to end her life at any time, and probably would. The second choice was to have Dipper stand in the center and have Pacifica perform the ritual. A long time ago, a Northwest made a bet with Bill. If Bill lost, he was to be a slave to the Northwest family if they ever called upon him. Through some trickery, the Northwest won. Because Bill was tricked, however, Bill said that any Northwest summoning him would need a willing sacrifice.

"You don't understand, Dipper!" Pacifica cried. "My family has already lied and cheated enough! I don't want to take advantage of their wrong doings! I don't want to be like them!"

"You could die, Pacifica!" Dipper argued. "I don't know what I would do with myself if you were killed!"

Pacifica huffed, crossing her arms. "Oh yeah?"

Dipper scowled at her. "Besides, you're the only one who'll have complete control over him. Now, come on, we have no more time to waste."

And so they started the ritual. They found a quiet clearing in the woods where nobody would bother to go. Dipper placed the candles in a clockwise fashion around him, starting at twelve o'clock and ending at eleven o'clock. Pacifica lit the candles counter-clockwise, starting at twelve and ending at one. After lighting the candles, Pacifica walked over and stood behind the six o'clock candle. She and Dipper both faced ahead as Pacifica started the summons.

"I, Pacifica Northwest, call upon the demon Bill Cipher, slave to the Northwest family. Standing before me I have a willing human sacrifice, unchained, standing in the circle of his own free will. If you comply with my terms, you may have him, but until then you will not harm him in any way." Pacifica took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could end the summons right then and there. She could save Dipper from the dangerous demon. He would be angry, sure, but he would get over it.

Then again, he would never smile again. He would never get to see his sister again. He would never be happy again. Pacifica longed to see him happy.

Before she could stop herself, Pacifica finished the summons. "Triangulum, entangulum! Meteforis dominus ventium! Meteforis venetisarium!"

There was no turning back.

For a few scary seconds, Pacifica couldn't control her own body. Her eyes started to glow blue and she screamed "asetnoheptus" five times. Then, as if someone were flipping a switch, the world around them drained of all color, and a triangle appeared in the center of the summoning circle, floating right above Dipper.

"Well, well, well." Bill Cipher greeted, swinging his cane casually in his right hand. "If it isn't Pine Tree and the Northwest brat. Fancy meeting you here."

Pacifica swallowed. _Don't be scared. _She scolded herself. _You're perfectly safe. You're not the one in the circle._

"Where is my sister!" Dipper demanded, looking up at the demon.

_Idiot! _Pacifica glared at the back of Dipper's head.

"I'm sorry, is that a fly buzzing in my ear?" Bill poofed the cane out of existence and put his hand up to the place where his ear would be if he had one.

Pacifica cleared her throat. "I request the return of Mabel Pines."

"Mabel?" Bill asked. "Doesn't ring a bell. Let me think..." Bill rubbed the area between his bowtie and eye with his thumb and pointer finger. "Mabel..." An image of Mabel flashed across his body. She was smiling, her arm around Dipper. "Mabel..." Another image of Mabel flashed across his body. Her body bruised, her eyes closed, lying limp in the grass. "Oh yes." Once more an image flashed across the demon's body. This one of Mabel surrounded by darkness, her head in her hands and tears leaking through her fingers. Pacifica noted that Mabel's hair was longer, and she looked taller. Dipper let out a strangled sound. "Shooting Star. How could I forget?"

"You monster!" Dipper screamed. Bill looked down at him and rolled his eye.

"Hey kid, a triangle's gotta do what a triangle's gotta do." He shrugged and looked back at Pacifica. "You make a very generous offer, but I believe Pine Tree here won't be of much use without his sister. And I don't really think you're going to give him to me that easily. Your family was always a tricky one."

Pacifica could feel her face turning red. _Don't get angry. It's what he wants. _She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again. "Is there anything we can do to change your mind? Anything else you want?"

"There is _one _thing..." Quite suddenly, an image of two children appeared beside Bill. At first glance, it looked like a younger version of Mabel and Dipper. As Pacifica looked closer, however, she could she differences in hair, eye, and skin color, face shape, and body stature. She had often seen these two in Gravity Falls. They visited their uncle every summer.

"You want us to kidnap innocent children!" Pacifica yelled.

Bill waved his hand and the image disappeared. "Do you want Shooting Star back or not? It doesn't have to be these two, just two children that are the same age. Twins would be better, though..." He shrugged. "Tell you what? I'll give you three days to do it. Just come back here on the third day with them and call my name."

"We'll do it!" Dipper agreed. Bill rolled his eye downwards.

"I'd gladly accept you agreeing to my terms, kid, but I don't believe you have the authority to do so." He pointed at Pacifica. "_She's _the one sacrificing _you _after all."

Dipper turned to Pacifica, a pleading look in his eyes. Pacifica did her best to ignore him. "And what if I turn down your offer?" She asked.

Bill chuckled. "Let's just say that Shooting Star will never see the light of day again." Then Bill waved his hand and another image appeared beside him. This one of Dipper, throwing himself from the roof of the Mystery Shack. "I'd make the decision quickly, Pacifica. Tick-tock. His time is running out."

"Alright!" Pacifica screamed. Dipper turned back to the demon to see what had Pacifica so distressed, but Bill had already made the terrible image disappear. "We'll do it!"

"Glad to see you've come to your senses!" Bill engulfed his hand in blue flames and stuck it out for Pacifica to shake. She did so without hesitation. "And no tricks, Northwest. I'll be watching you..."

Bill disappeared and the world regained its color. Pacifica opened her eyes and gasped, breathing heavily. How would she be able to give those kids to Bill Cipher? But the image of Dipper throwing himself from the roof of the Mystery Shack was enough to convince Pacifica that she made the right choice.

"Come on," she said. Her voice cracked with the sob she had no idea she was holding in. "Let's get this over with."


	3. It's Been So Long

Four years ago...

"_Tell me! Where is Journal Number One!"_

_Dipper could only stare in horror at the humongous robot. It was Mabell who spoke first._

"_Journal-"_

"_Number One?!" The twins finished together._

"_You took the only journal I had!" Dipper screamed. The Gideon Bot lungd towards them and the siblings ran across the last length of the railroad tracks._

"_Don't play games with me boy!" The Gideon Bot pounded the cliff above them, causing stray boulders to fall. Dipper and Mabel screamed as one of the boulders almost crushed Mabel. Dipper pulled her out of the way just in time and pushed her behind him, ready to do anything to protect his sister from her crazy ex-boyfriend._

"_What do you even want with these journals anyway?!" Dipper yelled. The large robot didn't reply. Instead, it picked up the twins in it's large, iron hands. Mabel screamed and Dipper pounded on the giant hand clutching him, enraged at the fact that Gideon thought he could capture his sister and get away with it "Let go of her!"_

_The Gideon Bot laughed and brought Dipper's flailing body up to his face. "You still think you're some kind of hero?" It turned and disposed of Dipper over its shoulder._

_Dipper fell to the ground, his whole body racked with pain. He was barely aware of blood dripping down his face from his bleeding nose. All he could hear was Mabel's screams._

"_Dipper! Help me! Help!"_

_Dipper backed away from the edge of the cliff, unsure of what to do next and scared for his life. It was then that he remembered what Gideon said._

"Face it, kid. You're nothing without that journal."

Maybe he's right. _Dipper thought. _I can't save Mabel.

_He started to walk away, too crestfallen to continue, when he remembered Mabel screaming and struggling in the arms of the Gideon Bot. And, if he didn't act fast, Mabel would be doing the same thing in the arms of Gideon himself. Just the thought of Gideon even laying a finger on Mabel made Dipper shake with anger._

_He ran towards the edge of the cliff and soon he was flying through the air. He didn't think about falling to the ground that was hundreds of feet below. He didn't think of what would happen if he didn't reach the robot. He didn't think of what he would do once he landed on the robot. He only thought of rescuing his sister._

_Dipper would do anything to protect her._

* * *

Present day…

It was lonely in Bill's dimension. It was dark, too. Mabel would have gone mad if Bill hadn't taught her how to alter her surroundings. In fact, Bill taught Mabel a lot. He taught her simple things first, like how to levitate and travel through the dream world. Then he taught her harder things that required most of her energy, such as how to manipulate objects and make things appear out of thin air.

Mabel had created the illusion that she was lying in her room at the Mystery Shack, listening to twelve-year-old Dipper read a passage from Journal Number Three. It was so realistic that she could feel the softness of her bed underneath her. She could feel Waddles' soft cheek as she stroked it, her fingers tracing slow figure eights starting from the bottom of his chin, going around around his ear, and back again.

Mabel still wasn't sure of the plans Bill had for her, but she had a feeling it had to do with the assignments he gave her. Most of these assignments involved gathering odd things from Gravity Falls that would be impossible for any normal human to obtain. For example, a branch from a tree that paralyzes any creature that touches it, or small pebbles that are heavier than the weight of an elephant. She always accepted the assignments and completed them as fast as she could. She never dared to disobey Bill Cipher, not after what had happened.

About two years ago, Mabel tried to escape. She ran off in the middle of one of her assignments, but she didn't get very far when Bill found her and took her back to his dimension. He took away her ability to manipulate the space and left her for a week in the darkness. Mabel never tried to escape again.

Dipper was just getting to the Gnome section of the journal when Bill barged into the room. Mabel froze the scene and glared at the demon.

"Listening to that moron brother of yours read his stupid journal? Typical."

Mabel huffed at Bill and continued stroking Waddles. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Bill inspected the fingers on his right hand. "I've got another assignment for you. Think you can handle it?"

"Sure. I mean, it's the only time I'm ever allowed to be in my dimension." Mabel grumbled. To let Bill know exactly how she was feeling, she changed her attic room she shared with her brother to a dark and damp prison cell, complete with shackles and barred windows.

"What's with the sudden drama? I mean, sheesh!" Bill rolled his eye. "One would think I keep you under lock and key. You can go back to your dimension whenever you like."

"And risk spending a week in the darkness again?" Mabel stood up from the scratchy cot she had turned her bed into and faced Bill. "I don't think so."

"What I don't know can't hurt me."

"But you know _everything._"

Bill chuckled. "Well, I can't argue with that. Now, do you want to know what your assignment is or not?"

Mabel made the prison cell disappear. She and Bill were now floating in blackness. "What do I have to do? Find the bottom of the bottomless pit? Stop time?"

Bill twirled his cane casually between his fingers. "No. That's for another day. All you have to do right now is bring me Journal Number Three."

Mabel's heart sped up. "Journal Number Three? You mean I get to see Dipper again?" It's been four years since Mabel last saw her brother. She wondered how he had changed. Try as she might, Mabel couldn't imagine what sixteen-year-old Dipper looked like.

"Don't get too excited, kid. You get to see Dipper, but he doesn't get to see you. I'd like you to keep a low profile. Just grab the journal and get out." Bill snapped his fingers and a portal appeared in front of Mabel. Inside the portal, Mabel could see a birds-eye view of the town that was once her summer home.

Mabel swallowed. "C-can't I make my own portal?"

"Nope! You have an hour." The outside of the portal started to glow red, showing that the timer was set. "That should be plenty of time for you." Without another word, Bill shoved Mabel through the portal.

Mabel screamed. She was falling through the air, and she knew it would hurt when she hit the ground. It wouldn't kill her, but it would hurt.

With a loud thud that only she could hear, Mabel landed in the middle of a forest. Her entire body felt broken. She couldn't find the strength to move.

She had one hour to get the journal and get back to Bill. One hour until she would be ripped away from her world in the most painful way possible. It should be easy enough- she was in the mindscape. Nobody could see or hear her.

Mabel had heard from Dipper that being in the mindscape was like being a ghost. You couldn't touch anything, you couldn't get hurt or killed, and nobody could see or hear you, unless you found a puppet to inhabit. Mabel had a different reaction to the mindscape. She could get hurt and she could interact with the objects around her, but nobody could see or hear her, and, try as she might, she could not inhabit a puppet. She asked Bill why this was once. He merely shrugged.

_Gotta find Dipper, _she reminded herself. _Quick, before time runs out._

Mabel pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the pain in her entire body and the ringing in her ears.

_I'm sorry Dipper, but I have no choice._

* * *

Dipper could feel the anger radiating off of Pacifica as they walked back to the mystery shack. He knew she wasn't happy with his choice, but what else was he supposed to do? Leave Mabel with that demon?

Never. Not after he spent so long trying to find her.

"If you have something to say, just say it already," he grumbled. Pacifica fixed him with a glare.

"I can't believe you," she hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean!? What are we going to do now?!" Pacifica stopped walking. She could feel her face flushing. "You're not really going to trade those kids for Mabel, are you!?"

Dipper gave Pacifica an apologetic look before he continued walking, this time at a faster pace.

"You're going to give those innocent kids up to Bill!?"

Dipper spun around to face Pacifica, his face contorted with fury. "Don't you understand!? I finally have an opportunity to get my sister back! After all these years!"

"Think of it, Dipper," Pacifica pleaded. "Think of their families! Think of-"

Without warning, Dipper grabbed Pacifica by the shoulders and slapped his hand over her mouth. Pacifica ripped his hand away.

"What was that-"

"Shhhhh!" Dipper put a finger to his lips. That's when Pacifica heard it.

"Orion! Help! Norman turned out to be gnomes, and they're all jerks!"

Pacifica gave Dipper a look. "That sounds like Mabel," she breathed. Dipper nodded. He turned towards the direction the noise was coming from. "It sounds like she needs help," he said. "Do you think it's them?"

Pacifica crossed her arms. "I'm not helping them just to hand them over to Bill."

"Do you want her to get married to thousands of gnomes and be forced to be their queen?"

Pacifica uncrossed her arms and curled her hands into fists at her sides. "Fine!" She hissed. She stalked towards the commotion. "Are you coming or not?"

Dipper followed silently. In the back of his mind, he could feel that rush again. It was the same rush he got when he went on an adventure with is sister. It was the same rush he felt when he first found Journal Number Three. And now, he was finally fighting the creatures of Gravity Falls again.

It's been so long...


	4. Little did she know

_**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYBODY WHO REVIEWED!**_

_**You guys give me motivation and make me smile :D**_

Four years ago…

_Everything was turning out to be a huge mess. The journal, the puppets, Bill._

_Now Mabel had a choice. She could either ruin her entire puppet show she worked so hard for and lose the guy of her dreams, or she could get Dipper his body back._

_And as Bill stood above her, using Dipper's face to give her a sickening grin, Mabel weighed her choices. It was Dipper's fault that he got himself possessed by Bill. If he hadn't been obsessed with finding the password to that stupid laptop, none of this would have happened._

_It was all his fault. And now Mabel's puppet show and her chance of fixing her summer romances was put at risk. All because Dipper couldn't stop solving mysteries for a few days._

_Mabel held out the book to Bill, averting her eyes from his terrifying face._

"_There it is," Bill sneered. "Who would sacrifice everything they worked for for their dumb sibling, anyway?"_

_That's when it hit her. Dipper saving her from the gnomes. Dipper giving up Wendy so she could have Waddles. Dipper risking his life to save her from Gideon. He did so much for Mabel. It was time she returned the favor._

"_Dipper would." Mabel yanked the book away from Bill's grasp, pulling Bill into the giant hollow wedding cake with her. They plummeted towards the stage, each of them grabbing for the journal._

"_Get out of my brother's body, you evil triangle!" Mabel shrieked before hitting Bill on the head with Journal Number Three. She jumped up and started to run._

"_You can't stop me!" Bill shouted. "I'm a being of pure energy with no weakness!" He lept for Mabel, landing on top of her and pinning her to the floor._

_Mabel smirked. "True. But you're in Dipper's body, and I know all _his _weaknesses."_

"_What do you mean his…"_

_Mabel reached under her brother's armpit. "Tickle tickle!"_

_Bill let out the most horrifying laugh that quickly changed into a scream. He rolled off of Mabel involuntarily. "Ah! Body spasms! What are these!?"_

_Mabel ran to safety, clutching the journal under her arm. "Little note about the human body, _you _haven't slept in twenty-four hours!" Mabel started to run, letting Bill chase her in circles, giddy with her new victory. "Also, I got a full night's sleep and I'm on four major shots of Mabel Juice!"_

_Just as Mabel predicted, Bill started to slow down, panting heavily. "What is this feeling?" He moaned. "My body is burning! I can't move these stupid noodle legs!" Bill started to punch himself in the thighs, as if that would somehow jump-start his acquired vessel up again. "Curse you, useless flesh sticks! Body shutting down!" Bill started to stumble on his feet, barely able to keep himself upright. "Must...scratch...mosquito bites…" Finally, he fell, unable to endure the human body any longer. Bill left Dipper's body, allowing the real Dipper to snatch it up again._

"_Yes! I'm in my own body! And it's… just as underwhelming as I remember." Dipper inhaled loudly through his gritted teeth. "Everything hurts."_

_Dipper and Mabel both flinched at the now-familiar evil laugh. Bill started to maneuver the Dipper Puppet towards the twins. "This isn't the last you'll hear of me! Big things are coming! You can't stop me!"_

"_I'm sorry Gabe," Mabel whispered. She pressed the red button labeled "big finish", setting off all of the pyrotechnics at once, lighting the whole set on fire._

This isn't the last you'll hear of us, either, _Mabel thought as she watched the blazing puppets fly through the air, _We'll meet again, Bill, but next time you'll be facing both of us. Together.

_Little did she know how wrong she was..._

* * *

Present day...

It was just as Dipper remembered it.

The child was secured to the ground with ropes, while the gnomes stood above her, ready to defend their soon-to-be queen with their own lives. It was pathetic, really. Dipper almost felt sorry for them.

Her brother- Orion, she had called him- stood armed with a shovel. He picked up one gnome with the shovel and tossed him to the side before swinging it madly at the others, scaring them away. He was just about to slice the ropes holding Mabel with the blade when Dipper spoke.

"Don't!" He jumped between Orion and his sister.

Orion's eyes widened with surprise before quickly narrowing with anger. "Who are you?" He hissed, brandishing the shovel at Dipper.

"Look, kid. Orion, is it?" Dipper held out his hands in a submissive gesture. "That isn't a good idea. Trust me."

Orion swung the shovel at Dipper and Dipper had to duck out of the way. "And why should I trust you?" He growled.

"Because, four years ago, my sister and I were in the same situation." Dipper was speaking quickly now, seeming to fear for his life. This kid could bash his head in with that shovel, no problem. "Her name was Mabel. She had a boyfriend named Norman, right? And Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes looking for a queen, and when she refused to marry them, they kidnapped her. And I went looking for her, and I rescued her, and you wanna know what happened next?" Dipper cautiously grabbed the tip of the shovel with his right hand and pushed it to the side. "They turned into a giant gnome and almost killed us. We have to be cautious about this."

Orion's eyes softened, but he still grasped the shovel tightly in his hands. "That's crazy," he said.

"About as crazy as your sister being kidnapped by a hoard of gnomes." Dipper smiled. Orion lowered his shovel.

"Get him!"

Orion dropped his weapon as several gnomes jumped on top of him and pulled him to the ground. They grabbed each of his limbs and started to pull him in four different directions. Orion let out a loud scream. Behind Dipper, his sister screamed as well.

"Jeff!" She screamed. "I'll ma-"

"Don't waste your breath, honey," Pacifica said. She strode over to where the gnomes were ripping apart the poor boy, zipping open her purse. "Orion. Close your eyes and hold your breath." Orion did as she asked and Pacifica pulled a large can of mace out of her purse. She sprayed the contents at the gnomes and they scattered, screaming, eyes tearing.

"Nice." Dipper complimented.

"I never leave home without it," Pacifica said.

Dipper picked up the shovel and used it to slice the ropes binding Orion's sister to the ground. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah." The girl shakily got to her feet.

Orion opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet, coughing. "Who are you guys?" He asked, eyeing the duo warily.

"My name is Dipper, and this is Pacifica." Dipper rested the shovel on his shoulder, not willing to part with it just yet. He didn't want to use any unnecessary force against the kids, but he couldn't just let them go either.

"Dipper? That's a weird name," said the twelve-year-old boy.

"Not as weird as Orion."

"It's a nickname…" Orion grumbled.

"Don't be such a Debbie Downer!" The younger girl playfully pushed her twin brother out of the way, obviously more confident now that the whole "being kidnapped by gomes" fiasco was all over. "I'm May, and you know the name of my brother, Orion." The girl was wearing a sweater with what looked like a comet on the front, complete with an entire space scene with what dipper guessed was glow-in-the-dark stars. She reminded Dipper so much of Mabel that he had a hard time seeing her as anything different than the sister he had left behind. Even their names were somewhat similar. "We're here for the summer with our Uncle, and we had a little run-in with these gnomes after Orion here found this crazy book in the woods!"

"A strange book, you say?" As Dipper studied Orion, he found that they had similar ways of dressing as well. Orion had messy brown hair that he covered with a hat that had a maple leaf on the front. He wore a red vest with a faded green shirt underneath and blue, baggy jean shorts. Dipper knew there was a reason Bill chose these kids, and he wondered whether it was because the two sets of twins were tied together in some way.

"May!" Orion hissed. "We don't know who these people are!"

"Sure we do! They're Dipper and Pacifica, and they saved us from gnomes!" May gave Dipper and Pacifica a big, cute smile. "It's a journal filled with strange creatures and theories about this town. It has a six fingered hand on the front with a number four on top of it! Isn't that weird?"

Dipper paused for a moment. There were _four_ journals? "Uh, yeah, actually…" He paused. He usually didn't like to share his book with strangers, not after Gideon stole it the first time, but he figured that these kids wouldn't be around much longer anyways. The thought made his stomach twinge with guilt, but he pushed the feeling away. _I have to rescue Mabel. _ "I have the third one with me right now."

Orion perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Here, give me a second." Dipper stuck his hand into his vest, searching for his precious journal. He grumbled in frustration when he couldn't find any trace of it and instead pulled out a small, pink sticky note.

He looked at the sticky note and gasped. Dipper dropped it like it was burning his hands.

"What is it?" Pacifica asked. She bent down to pick up the note and gasped as well, covering her open mouth with her hand.

"What?! What happened?!" May walked over to Pacifica and stood on her tiptoes to see what was on the small pink paper.

On the sticky note was a shakily drawn shooting star.

_**Am I really ending this chapter off right here? Yup, I'm just evil like that. :D**_

_**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and left a favorite or a follow. Like I said, it's you guys who keep me motivated to write this stuff!**_

'_**Till next time!**_

_**Peace!**_


	5. how wrong she was

_**I couldn't leave you with that big of a cliffhanger for long! I'm not that evil. Well, maybe I am, but this chapter was just begging to be written!**_

Four years ago...

_It was very early in the morning when the party finally ended. Grenda and Candy had both been picked up by their parents, but Mabel and Dipper had to walk home. This didn't bother them too much. The twins liked having some quality time together, and Gravity Falls seemed like a whole different place during the witching hour._

_"The Northwests really know how to throw a party, don't they, Dipper?" Said Mabel as she tried to stifle a yawn._

_"Yeah." So maybe that night didn't get off to a great start, but Mabel had a great time. Plus, all the townsfolk got to join in, and Pacifica looked so good in that dress..._

_"Hey, Dipper, look at this!" Mabel pointed to a mushroom that was letting off a very bright glow._

_"Stuff like that tends to happen in Gravity Falls, especially at this time of night. I wouldn't touch it though..." Dipper let out a yawn. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see something that looked similar to a small spark._

_"Like that?" Mabel asked, pointing at the spark. Dipper turned his head to get a better look._

_"Yeah. Like that." Dipper watched as the spark started to grow bigger and take on a shape of its own, mesmerized. "We should probably get home so we can go to bed and get some..." Dipper trailed off as the shape became more distinct._

_It was a triangle. A singular eye started to form._

_"Mabel, run!" Dipper turned around and pushed his sister in front of him._

_"What is it?!"_

_"It's Bill. It's the witching hour. The veil between our worlds is thin enough for him to pass through without a host," Dipper huffed as he ran as fast as he could go. A loud, spine-chilling laugh rang throughout the forest._

_"Are we playing a game of cat and mouse, Pine Tree? Let me even out the odds a little bit..." A strong wind blew, and Journal Number Three went flying._

_"The journal!" Dipper changed course and dashed after the journal._

_"Leave it, Dipper!" Mabel called, but either Dipper didn't hear her or he didn't care. He continued to run after the journal, leaving Mabel to fend for herself. She glanced over her shoulder to see if she could still see him._

_That was her fatal mistake._

_Mabel ran into something that felt like a brick wall and fell to the ground, battered and bruised._

_"Well, well, well..." Bill rolled his eye downwards to look at Mabel, his hands on the area his hips would be if he had any. "If it isn't Shooting Star."_

_"Leave me alone, you stupid triangle!" Mabel screamed. Bill only let out another laugh and lifted Mabel up by her foot._

_"Wouldn't want your brother to miss the show, would we?" Bill flies over the trees, bringing the poor, squirming, Mystery Twin with him, searching for her other half._

_Dipper had finally secured the journal when he saw Bill flying in his direction. He knew he needed to think fast, so he started flipping through the pages until he found a spell that would create a force field around himself that could not be penetrated by any entity, including dream demons. No sooner had he finished the spell when Bill appeared above him, waving his sister like a flag._

_"Hey, Pine Tree!" Bill gave Mabel another vigorous shake._

_"You let her go!" Dipper yelled. Bill only laughed._

_"Make me!" Bill turned his attention to Mabel, who was now almost unconscious. "You know..." he said in a considering tone, "shooting stars are quite pretty when they fall..." Bill dropped Mabel, laughing at the cracking sound she made and Dipper's sobbing screams. He floated down to the boy, intending to do something similar to him, only to be stopped by an invisible wall. Dipper also seemed to be hindered by this wall, as it prevented him from reaching his sister, which he was so desperately trying to do._

_"You...you monster... Mabel..." Dipper tried to form a coherent sentence through his sobs, but he was unable to. "Mabel I'm sorry..."_

_"Now, isn't that cute," Bill mocked. "Now, how to get past this wall..."_

_Bill tried everything he knew, but was not able to penetrate Dipper's spell. He tried for hours, all the while with Mabel just barely clinging to life, and Dipper just barely clinging to his sanity. But the night would soon be over, and Bill would have to leave with Mabel before sunrise. If he couldn't have both Mystery Twins, he could at least have one._

_"Sorry, Pine Tree, but I'll have to come back for you later." Bill tipped his hat and gathered up Mabel's limp form in his arms. "Remember. I'll be watching you. I've always been watching you."_

_And with that, he left. The sun rose, and Dipper's force field evaporated. He was found a few hours later, curled up on the forest floor, sobbing, saying the same thing over and over again._

Mabel, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

* * *

Present day...

"Stupid little Shooting Star."

Mabel tried to stay strong as Bill eyed her with mock disappointment. She would not let him see how scared she was.

"I gave you clear instructions, didn't I?"

Mabel nodded.

"Get the journal and get out of there, correct?"

Mabel nodded once more.

"And I did say that an hour would be more than enough time, didn't I?"

Mabel shivered. She didn't realize how long she had been gone until she was rudely and painfully torn away from her own dimension. The feeling of all the atoms in her body breaking apart was still fresh in her mind.

"So why did you use up all of your time and leave Dipper a little note in his vest pocket?"

Mabel did not speak. She glared Bill in the eye defiantly. The worst he could do was put her in the darkness again, but it would be worth it. Dipper knew she was safe now, at least somewhat, and he would come to rescue her. Besides, Mabel had a feeling Bill would soon be needing her for some purpose other than an extreme form of solitary confinement.

Bill tsked and shook his finger at her. "Naughty, naughty Shooting Star. I think another week in the darkness is too good for you."

_I can take the darkness, no matter how long I'm in there_, Mabel thought.

Bill snapped his fingers and Mabel felt herself become stiff and rigid. She was startled to find that she couldn't move.

_No_.

"I think a week in the darkness without mobility will be just fine, though, with nothing to do but scream."

And Mabel did scream. As soon as Bill left, she cried and screamed until her throat was sore.

"Dipper, help me!" She found herself screaming.

_Dipper can't help you. He left you._

_Yes he can. I'm his twin. He's my brother and I love him, and I know he loves me back._

* * *

Orion and May silently sipped their Pit Colas after Dipper's tale, not knowing what to say. The twins had agreed to go with Dipper and Pacifica after the note was found for an explanation. They did not expect to hear such a story.

After a few moments of silence, Dipper spoke up. "May I see your journal?" He asked. Orion silently passed Journal Number Four across the table to Dipper. Dipper pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, the one that the instructions for the ritual he and Pacifica performed were written on. He flipped through the journal until he found an area where a page had been torn out and put in the paper he held in his hand. It fit perfectly. "I thought it was from one of the other journals, but I know those things cover to cover. I didn't see anywhere a page had been torn out," Dipper mumbled, half to himself. Without another word, he stood up and walked out.

"Where did he go?" May asked Pacifica.

"To get some fresh air," Pacifica replied. Telling the story over again after so many years must have been a little too much for Dipper. Pacifica wondered if she should have let him tell it in the first place.

"Is it true? The story he told?" Asked Orion. Pacifica nodded.

"Every word."

"How is he going to get her back?" May was now staring at Pacifica, her eyes wide with wonder and fear.

Pacifica bit her lip. Dipper had left that one important deal out of his story, and she wondered if she should tell the kids now.

"We don't know, but we'll find a way," Pacifica said, guilt clawing at her stomach. She decided to turn her attention to something else. "So, why do they call you Orion?"

Orion's face turned red. "No reason. Why do they call him Dipper?"

Pacifica smiled. "Don't tell him I told you this, but he has a birthmark in the shape of the Big Dipper on his forehead."

"You're not kidding?" Orion's eyes widened with surprise.

"Nope."

Orion removed his hat and brushed his bangs to the side to reveal a birthmark in the shape of the constellation Orion on his forehead. He immediately put his hat back on, his face red with embarrassment.

May gave Pacifica a suspicious look. "You're not going to make fun of him for it, are you?" She asked.

Pacifica shook her head. "Of course not. Like I said, Dipper has a similar one, just of the Big Dipper instead of Orion." Pacifica couldn't help but be suspicious. It's not enough that the twins look and dress similar to Mabel and Dipper, but Orion had a birthmark similar to Dipper's as well. She wondered how many other similarities the two sets of twins had. Pacifica remembered Dipper saying something about people who had the same birthdays being connected in one way or another, and she wondered if that was the case here.

"So, which of you is older?" Pacifica asked. May beamed.

"I am by five minutes!" She exclaimed.

"But we were both born on August eighth," Orion pointed out. "So we're _technically_ the same age."

"But I'm still older. And taller!"

"By a _millimeter_!"

This was too weird. There were too many coincidences. Pacifica had to tell Dipper about this. "I'm going to go check on Dipper," She said before exiting the room. Orion watcher her go and waited before she was out of earshot before turning to May.

"I don't trust them," he said.

"You've been way too suspicious of people ever since you found that journal telling you to trust no one. I think Pacifica is nice, and I like Dipper. Plus, they saved us," May pointed out.

"I'm serious this time!" Orion grabbed his journal and flipped through the pages. "Look at this." He pulled out a page and handed it to May. "This is the page that Dipper had. It's a about a ritual to summon a demon in order to bargain for the life of another person. Why would Pacifica say that they didn't know how to get his sister back when Dipper obviously had the instructions to do it?"

May studied the paper. Her face fell. "This doesn't necessarily mean-"

"But that's not all," Orion said, cutting his sister off. "But turn the paper over."

May did as her brother instructed. On the back of the paper was a drawing of a triangle covered with a brick pattern, completed with a singular eye, a top hat, and a bowtie. "I've seen this before…" May mumbled. "It's weird. I always feel like it's watching me."

"That is a demon with the name Bill Cipher. He's the demon that kidnapped Mabel, and that ritual was created _specifically _for him. And guess what else? In order to bargain for another's life, you need to give _up_ a life, such as a sacrifice."

May's face turned white and she thrust the paper back at Orion, not wanting to hold onto it any longer. "Is that…"

Orion nodded. "We need to get out of here."

* * *

Pacifica found Dipper on the front porch, sittin on the steps and holding the small sticky note tightly in his hand. She sat next to him and he looked over at her. His eyes were red and tears stained his cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Pacifica murmured. She grabbed his strong, rough hand in her own soft, petite hand.

Dipper shook his head and went back to staring at the shooting star. "I don't want to give those kids to Bill, but I've worked so hard to get Mabel back, and after all of these years I finally have a chance…" Dipper stiffened as Pacifica reached up and kissed his cheek.

"What?" She whispered, her lips next to his ear. "I thought you liked me, Pines."

Dipper stood up, tearing his hand away from Pacifica's. "Pacifica, I don't really think this is the time."

"Why? You never have time for me anymore! All you have time for is this useless hunt for your sister!" Pacifica stomped her foot. "I love you, Dipper!"

Dipper turned to Pacifica, his eyes sad and angry. "I love you too, Pacifica. I just don't have time for a relationship right now. Just wait until this is all over."  
"Just wait until you're in jail for kidnapping and murder, you mean," Pacifica grumbled.  
Dipper took a menacing step towards the pretty blond girl. "What did you say?" He growled.

"Oh, don't pretend it's not true! You know what you're doing, Dipper, and it's not right!"

"It's the only thing I _can _do!"

"We both know that's not true!"

Dipper paused, breathing heavily. "Are you suggesting that I just _leave _my sister with that monster," his voice was so full of venom that it made Pacifica shiver.

"I- I'm sorry," She mumbled.

Dipper took a deep breath. "No. I'm sorry. We need to stay strong together, okay? No more arguing, and no more kissing either. Not until this is all over."

Pacifica nodded her head in agreement. "So, what do we do now? Do we take them home, or do we let them stay here until the third day?"

Dipper walked up the steps of the porch and through the door to the Mystery Shack. "Leave that to me."

_**Thanks to everybody who's favorited, followed, and reviewed! I love you guys! Hugs for everyone!**_


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